Miranda wears the gamle Valdresbunaden, a traditional Norwegian folk costume representing the Valdres valley region and was created in 1914. Her dark blue wool base dress is embroidered with colorful detail, paired with a handcrafted hat and silver brooches produced by local silversmiths in Valdres, reflecting the region's rich silversmithing tradition. Each element of a bunad is often accumulated over time or passed down through family, making every version uniquely personal.

For Miranda, this costume carries deep ancestral meaning. During her Fulbright project in 2021-2022, she visited the farms in Valdres valley where her ancestors lived and worked before immigrating in the 1870s. Walking that land was, in her words, a spiritual experience.

Wearing this bunad connects her to that lineage, to the culture that shaped her ancestors, and to a sense of belonging that stretches across 150 years and an ocean.

MIRANDA MOEN · GAMLE VALDRESBUNADEN (THE OLD VALDRES FOLK COSTUME), VALDRES VALLEY, NORWAY · FROM A RECORDED CONVERSATION, 2026